"Shengyi, where have you been all this time? Grandfather and I have been very worried about you," Bai Murong said as she saw Bai Shengyi, leaning close affectionately, wanting to hold Bai Shengyi's hand.
Bai Shengyi took a step back, withdrew her hand, and said with a half-smile, "If you have something to say, say it. My time is precious."
How come she never noticed Bai Murong's gentle and approachable demeanor being so... calculating before?
"Bai Shengyi! Is this how you treat your own sister?" Duke Rong saw Bai Shengyi's nonchalant attitude and habitually reprimanded her.
Bai Shengyi raised an eyebrow, "What's wrong with my attitude? I didn't scold her for being insincere, nor did I say her expression was ridiculously fake. Isn't that good enough?"
"You! You!" Duke Rong pointed at Bai Shengyi, trembling with anger, "How did you become like this!"
"Isn't it because of your teachings, Grandfather?"
Bai Shengyi smiled sincerely, "Grandfather, you've forgotten. You personally said that the weak are not worthy of staying in the Bai family. Alas, who would have thought that I, the legitimate daughter of the esteemed Bai family, would be penniless? To return to the Bai family, I had no choice but to make myself stronger."
"You! You scoundrel! You simply..." Duke Rong's face turned green and then pale, choked by Bai Shengyi's words, wishing he could lay hands on her again.
Bai Shengyi ignored them; every word that reached his ears felt like a mockery.
She was penniless because he disallowed the household from providing her with a monthly allowance, and because Bai Shengyi, being blind, didn't go out and spend money.
The theory about the weak stemmed from his perpetual dissatisfaction with his granddaughter's submissive demeanor.
Duke Rong always felt he was in the right. After all, when Bai Shengyi was the heir to the Bai family, she couldn't satisfy him, and later, she became a good-for-nothing who could only be married off.
But now, looking at Bai Shengyi like this, Duke Rong felt a pang of weakness. He wanted to say something to salvage his pride, but then he saw Bai Murong constantly signaling him.
"Grandfather, don't be angry," Bai Murong walked to Duke Rong's side and supported him, then said to Bai Shengyi, "Shengyi, I know you're saying this out of resentment because Grandfather didn't involve himself in the matter with Princess Mingyu, but Grandfather has had a difficult time. You should understand him more."
Bai Murong acted like an understanding and sensible elder sister, patiently educating her immature younger sister.
Bai Shengyi let out a cold laugh. The accusation of "resentment in your heart" was now firmly placed on her. And she was asked to understand more? Understand that this grandfather treated her like an enemy!
She, Bai Shengyi, wasn't some kind of lunatic!
"Sister, your words are easy to say from where you stand. As an adopted daughter, you not only have better treatment than my brother and me, but Grandfather also gives you extra money and spirit stones every month. You lack nothing in cultivation resources, and your expenses are not small, so of course, you can understand him."
Bai Shengyi idly fiddled with her fingernails, her smile as mocking as a great villain's, "But I am indeed a scoundrel, I do have resentment in my heart, and I do feel it's unfair!"
"Therefore, you are unwelcome here, and you should leave!" she suddenly turned cold, pointing towards the door to escort them out.
Bai Murong almost lost her gentle facade.
Bai Shengyi was utterly outrageous! She knew how sensitive Bai Murong was about her status as an adopted daughter and deliberately used it to provoke her!
"Shengyi! How can you speak to Sister like that? I... I won't be able to show my face anymore..." Bai Murong harbored immense hatred for Bai Shengyi's sharp tongue, but outwardly, she appeared wronged and distressed, lowering her head with red-rimmed eyes.
Duke Rong's temper flared.
"Bai Shengyi! You are truly incorrigible! Murong is your own sister!"
He said indignantly, "Someone like you is completely unworthy of going to Shenqi Academy. Give your recommendation token to your sister, and consider it an apology to her."
He had initially intended to speak to this child kindly, but he didn't expect her to be so stubborn and sharp-tongued. So, he couldn't be blamed for losing his temper!
Duke Rong directly unleashed his Golden Core stage pressure, intending to force Bai Shengyi's compliance.
If Bai Shengyi were still the weakling she once was, she might have ended up spitting blood again.
However, she was not.
Perhaps it was because Duke Rong's Golden Core stage was not as substantial as it seemed, but although Bai Shengyi felt discomfort, she could still endure it.
"So it's about the recommendation token! You should have said so earlier." Bai Shengyi sneered dismissively.
She had no idea how they had found out about it; she hadn't even had it warm in her hands yet.
Bai Murong's eyes flickered, "Shengyi, your sister and Grandfather will not mistreat you. As long as you give the recommendation token to your sister, Grandfather will resolve the matter with the Princess's Estate for you. You see, although you are no longer a waste, having just entered the Qi Refining stage, using this recommendation token would be a waste anyway."
Thinking about this, Bai Murong felt indignant. She was clearly much stronger than Bai Shengyi, so why was it that when her second uncle obtained the recommendation token, he first thought of Bai Shengyi instead of her?
Wasn't she also a part of the Bai family?
If she hadn't coincidentally learned that her second uncle possessed a token, and then heard from Prince Gong that her second uncle had sought out Bai Shengyi, she might have missed this opportunity.
But this was good too. Obtaining the recommendation token from Bai Shengyi was much easier than getting it from her second uncle.
"Murong is right."
Recalling Bai Shengyi's escape from the Princess's Estate guards previously, Duke Rong calmed down a bit. Although it wasn't entirely glorious, it showed that his granddaughter wasn't truly useless.
He softened his tone and said, "The assessment at Shenqi Academy has always been brutal. Most participants are at Qi Refining fourth layer or above. Even if you go, you'll just be a stepping stone for others. It's better to give it to your sister. If your sister also enters Shenqi Academy, our Bai family will have successors."
Bai Shengyi was so amused by their shamelessness that she almost laughed.
"Have you forgotten that once a name is filled in on a recommendation token, it cannot be changed?" Bai Shengyi looked steadily at Duke Rong.
"These are minor issues; you don't need to worry about them," Duke Rong waved his hand carelessly.
Bai Shengyi understood. There must be some unspoken maneuvering involved.
Duke Rong said, then reached out to Bai Shengyi, "Be good and obedient, or else..."
"Or else what?"
Bai Shengyi revealed her small, pointed fangs. Her fingertip flicked slightly, emitting a wisp of dense wood spiritual energy.
"You... you're at Qi Refining fourth stage?" Duke Rong's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Impossible! How much time has passed since then!" Bai Murong's heart tightened, and she quickly said, "Grandfather, are you mistaken? Half a month ago, Shengyi had supposedly just entered Qi Refining!"
Half a month ago was during the incident where Bai Shengyi was ambushed and attacked by the Princess's Estate in the middle of the street as she left the capital.
That battle with Bai Shengyi had completely dispelled the rumors that she had no spiritual roots among the people of the capital, and it inevitably caused Bai Murong to panic.
However, at that time, Bai Murong could still comfort herself, thinking that since Bai Shengyi had entered the ranks of cultivators so late, she definitely wouldn't be able to catch up to her, and she would still be the most talented in the Bai family.
But now...
Bai Murong repeatedly told herself to stay calm, yet she remained flustered.
If Bai Shengyi's talent was now even higher than hers, would Grandfather still stand by her side?
"Shengyi, if you're unwilling to give it to me, then forget it. Don't try to deceive Grandfather with these petty tricks," Bai Murong said immediately, "I heard you mention before that Father gave you many elixirs, some of which can forcibly raise a person's cultivation level, although it greatly damages the body."